Every year on the second Sunday of May, we celebrate Mother’s Day, a holiday honouring the matriarchs at the heart of our families.
Beyond the breakfasts in bed, gifts and well-deserved pampering synonymous with the occasion, the day also invites reflection on the many ways our mothers – and grandmothers – shape our lives. To honour them, we revisit our stories that explore this enduring bond – from a son’s tribute to his mother’s culinary legacy to a look at the enduring power of your mother’s scent.
Recipes From My Big Fat Greek Cookbook: A Son’s Ode to His Mother’s Culinary Legacy
“[Food is] probably my mom’s only language to the outside world, really … She just wanted to feed bellies. I remember friends in the 1980s and 1990s, up until a few years ago, they would literally starve themselves for days knowing that they were going to come to my parents’ place — I’m not joking — so they can have two or three plates of food to the point where their stomachs hurt them.” —Christos Sourligas
How a Carefully Planned Family Trip Helped My Mom Connect With Fond Memories After Her Dementia Diagnosis
“For many of us, COVID-19 flattened our experiences and limited our options. In some way, I think dementia does the same. With isolation and lack of stimulation, minds can become dulled and turn in on themselves. But travel opens us all to new worlds and experiences.” —Diana Ballon
The Land of Our Grandmothers: A Nostalgic Journey from Italy to Canada, and Back Again
“More than six decades after Nonna prayed to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, on her way to Canada, I prayed for a plane seat with decent legroom on the way out, embarking on the return voyage she never took back to Italy… I didn’t expect to find the same country Nonna left behind. But perhaps the roots of the experiences and traditions that shaped her character remained – the spirit that every passenger on the MS Vulcania clung to during that long Atlantic voyage toward a new life.” —Mike Crisolago
Grace Notes: How Scent Is a Bridge to Our Past
“As teens we rebel against our mothers with weird haircuts and questionable sartorial choices, but our taste in fragrance may be beyond our control. Called “olfactory comfort,” we can’t help but be reflexively soothed by our mothers’ scent – her personal smell fusing in our minds with her chosen perfume.” —Liza Herz
Lady Pamela: India Hicks On Her Mother’s Impeccable Style, Dedication to Duty and Close Bond With the Queen
“They both had quite an acute sense of humour, and my mother said she was a brilliant mimic. They were both sort of no-nonsense and didn’t suffer fools easily; they were resilient and not over emotional. My mother’s very shocked by the world now and feels we’re all far too self-indulgent and self-focused.” – Hicks on what her mother and Queen Elizabeth had in common
